How does anyone decide to come up with a banana bread recipe? Bananas that are way too overripe & you don't want to waste 'em, right? At least that's how the original banana bread recipe came about... that's my theory & I'm stickin' to it.

I typically don't eat bananas but Matt insisted on getting some the other week for his pre-run fuel. I knew he wouldn't eat 'em but we grabbed a couple anyway. At the end of the week, whadya know... we have two black bananas sitting in our fruit basket. (I swear he does this on purpose so I'll make banana bread or cookies.)

It just so happened to be his birthday week this week as well so he lucked out & got some fully loaded birthday banana bread. I usually toss overripe bananas into my Oatmeal Banana Bread Cookies but I was in the creative mood & decided a new Chunky Monkey Banana Bread recipe was going down.

This lovely loaf is gluten free, dairy free, vegan, & refined sugar free. Per ush, this stuff is completely junk free & seriously delicious. Not to mention, (except I am mentioning it) who doesn't love a house that smells like fresh baked banana bread? I sure as hell do.

I eliminated all grains from my diet for over a year and just recently started introducing some sprouted gluten-free grains back in. For most people struggling any autoimmunity issue, removing grains from their diet can be one of the main components to helping them heal. (Which I believe it did of me) But I also try to listen to what my body wants and when I found myself really craving grains I decided maybe it was time to start slowly reintroducing some sprouted grains back into my diet.

The reason I use sprouted grains:

" The sprouting process involves soaking the grains or nuts in water in a controlled environment until they begin to sprout, making it a living food. During the sprouting process enzymes inhibitors are broken down - making the nuts or grains easier to digest and also increases the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body. "

One of the things my body craved most when I wasn't eating grains were oats! So needless say they were one of the first things I made! And this was actually a perfect day for them. It was cold and rainy and I knew my typical morning green smoothie definitely wouldn't cut it.

I think when people think of oats they typically think of a sweet, sugary breakfast. As I typically do myself. And that's where my problem arose: I want a warm bowl of oatmeal. I don't want sugar or anything sweet though. But I really want oats! This went on for a few minutes...as well as the opening and closing of the pantry and refrigerator doors until I finally saw my bone broth and figured it out. Boom! Bone broth + oats = duh! I like to get in as much bone broth as I can during the week. It's been one of the main components in helping me heal my gut. Plus, it's just such a good source of vitamins and minerals that I try to drink as much as possible. So, adding it to my oats seemed like a no-brainer. That's when this beautiful macro nutrient-dense breakfast baby was born.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 CUP ORGANIC SPROUTED OATS

1 CUP ORGANIC BEEF BONE BROTH

1 TSP. ONION POWDER

1 TSP. GARLIC POWDER

A GENEROUS GRIND OF FRESH BLACK PEPPER

1/2 TSP. HIMALAYAN SALT

1 CUP FROZEN ORGANIC SPINACH SAUTÉED IN AVOCADO OIL

2 PIECES ORGANIC UNCURED TURKEY BACON

HALF AN AVOCADO

DO IT

START BY ADDING 1 CUP BONE BROTH TO SAUCE PAN AND BRING TO A BOIL. ONCE BOILING, ADD IN 1/2 CUP SPROUTED OATS AND REDUCE TO A SIMMER. LET COOK UNTIL IT REACHES YOUR DESIRED CONSISTENCY. (I LET MINE COOK ABOUT 15 MINUTES.)

WHILE YOUR OATS ARE COOKING, START TO COOK UP YOUR TURKEY BACON IN A SAUTÉ PAN. (I LIKE TO CHOP MY BACON UP IN PIECES BEFORE ADDING TO THE PAN.) ONCE DONE COOKING REMOVE FROM PAN.

ADD 1 CUP FROZEN SPINACH TO SAME PAN AS THE TURKEY BACON WAS COOKED IN. ADD AVOCADO OIL IF NEEDED. COVER AND COOK ON MEDIUM HEAT UNTIL READY TO SERVE.

ONCE OATS ARE COOKED THROUGH, PUT IN YOUR FAVORITE BOWL AND TOP WITH THE GOODS. ENJOY!